“Amazing. It’s incredible. This is… this is....”

The old man pushed the rim of his glasses up his nose. His gaze hardened in concentration as he studied the cyborg before him. Never before has something this bizarre happen in his creations.

 “What’s wrong with him? Why is Sungjong like this?” Myungsoo asked. Panic evident in his voice.

It was supposed to be their last chance as a brief escape from reality, away from their worries and fears. A place where there’s only him and Sungjong, and no one else.

It was their last chance to create memories together just like Sungjong wanted. But seeing Sungjong collapse right in front of his eyes, it was the worst memory Myungsoo could never forget.

He held Sungjong’s hand in his own. The hands that warmed up his body in the snowy hills were now cold as ice.

How did this happen.

Sungjong never showed any signs that something was wrong with him.

Or did I simply not notice because I was too wrapped up in my own problems? Myungsoo could only blame himself.

“His heart is beating!” the old man exclaimed, his eyes shone with excitement.

Myungsoo’s eyes widened in shock. He must have heard him wrong. That can’t be possible. Myungsoo thought back to the day when the old man told him that the two things that distinguished a cyborg from a human were their silver eyes and their mechanical heart that wasn’t supposed to beat.

However, the old man was unable to answer him as he, himself,  had also been trying to figure out this puzzle for the past sixty years. The only assumption he had at this moment was that the heart’s unusual pulses were the cause for the cyborg’s system breakdown.

 “Can you…fix him” Myungsoo had never believed in the existence of gods but, at that moment, he prayed to all the gods in the world to save his Sungjong.

The old man, filled with pity, only sighed. “I can’t guarantee anything. I can only tell you that I’ll try my very best. But you must understand, Myungsoo-shi, that cyborgs are made with only the ability to imitate humans, not actually become human.”

Myungsoo didn’t understand. Did Sungknow know about this? If he did, why didn’t he tell him? Why would he keep it a secret? Was he mad that Myungsoo didn’t tell him about his illness even though the boy gave him his trust whole-heartedly?

He wanted so much to shake Sungjong awake and get the answers to all his questions.  He wanted this to be just a bad dream that he’ll wake up from and Sungjong would give him a peck on the cheek like every other morning.

But the only thing Myungsoo saw before him was his once glowing, smiling Jongie, now, unresponsive to his touches, to his kisses.

As if his Sungjong was no more.

--

Myungsoo went to the store day and night, hoping he would see Sungjong awake with his arms wide open to welcome him like he always did when Myungsoo came home.

But before him instead laid an unresponsive Sungjong who, despite his condition, looked as beautiful as when Myungsoo first saw him. He remembered walking in the unfamiliar part of the city and discovering this antique store that was dusty and empty. It had looked like nobody frequented this store for years.

Myungsoo remembered walking through the aisles and passing by the rows of cyborgs. He guessed there were around a hundred cyborgs for him to choose from at that time but only Sungjong caught his eye.

The way he looked, back then, was identical to his current state. Pale and beautiful. Eyes closed, as if he was sleeping. Myungsoo fell in love with him at first sight, at the peaceful aura he emitted.

Yet now, it was that same image of Sungjong that scared Myungsoo. Because back then, it was the beginning of their life together. It was the beginning of their love. Now…everything seemed to be coming to an end.

There were random moments when Sungjong would wake up, not knowing what happened and where he was. At times, he would forget how to use certain body parts so most of the time, he could only sit or lay down, helplessly, on the wide table where the old man operated on him.

However, even though Sungjong was losing his motor skills, his memories of Myungsoo remained intact. In Sungjong’s unconscious state, the memories would surface in his mind like a dream.

Their happy, their sad and painful moments, flashed behind his closed eyelids. The memories were so vivid that he would have a hard time distinguishing dream from reality.

Sometimes, he would wake up and see Myungsoo’s tear-stained face, his lover who choked back his sobs as he called out Sungjong’s name. Other times, Myungsoo had this emptiness in his bloodshot eyes as he stared at the wall in front of him. Dark shadows painted the area under his eyes from the lack of sleep. He was clearly exhaused, yet, his hands never let go of Sungjong’s as he squeezed it tightly.

Seeing Myungsoo like this pained him. Sungjong never wanted this to happen. He wanted to be the one to watch over Myungsoo until he took his last breath. Instead, he was now putting Myungsoo through so much pain and misery.

If only he had listened to Dongwoo’s advice and had gone for a check-up, this wouldn’t have happened. But how could he bear to erase everything he and Myungsoo had together?

Sungjong knew if he had the chance to go back in time, he would have made the same choice.

Sungjong’s eyes fluttered open, his mind slowly rebooting to its wake mode. He turned his head to the side, locking his gaze onto Myungsoo’s, and smiled.

Myungsoo returned his smile and walked towards where his lover was laying. He laid next to Sungjong and hooked an arm around the boy’s body, sliding his body towards him until they were merely centimeters apart.

Myungsoo briefly pressed their foreheads together before capturing Sungjong’s lips in his. Breaking apart from the kiss, both gasped for air. It had been so long since he last held the cyborg in his arms.

Sungjong lightly traced his fingertips along Myungsoo’s forehead to his eyes, his nose, his lips, and down to his chest. He laid his palm flat against Myungsoo’s chest, feeling the pulses beneath his hand. He, then, took Myungsoo’s hand and placed it above his own heart.

Myungsoo’s eyes widened upon feeling the cyborg’s heartbeat matching his own. He couldn’t believe it. What the old man said was true. Sungjong, his Jongie’s heart was beating.

“It’s the same as yours.”

Myungsoo’s heart warmed at the sight of his lover’s smile. Never before had he seen him look so happy and content that Myungsoo started to understand the reason for his lover’s fear of losing this new heart.

“You’re right. It’s just like mine.”

Sungjong lifted Myungsoo’s hand to his lips, kissing lightly on the fingertips, and placed it on his cheek, pressing the side of his face against the palm of his hand.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he was suddenly overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, regret and sadness, knowing that their remaining time together was reaching its limit. But he tried his best to smile, blinking back his tears.

As if reading Sungjong’s mind, Myungsoo felt his own eyes getting teary. He wiped Sungjong’s tears away despite his own tear-stained face. Seeing Sungjong putting up a strong front for him, Myungsoo bit his lips to hold back his sobs.

He knew he had to be strong for Sungjong, the same way the boy was for him but he didn’t know how.

It was only when he saw his lover’s silver eyes slowly revert back to the dark, glassy orbs, reflecting the emptiness of his soul, that Myungsoo finally broke down.

Myungsoo cradled Sungjong’s body tightly in his arms as he sobbed uncontrollably on his lover’s shoulder. He yelled out loud, trying to release all his pain and frustrations but nothing calmed the pain in his heart.

--

Days passed and there was still no progress. Sungjong had not woken since that day and Myungsoo was starting to get anxious. He repeatedly asked the old man to give him an update on Sungjong’s condition. He just wanted to hear something. Anything will do as long as he knew that Sungjong was ok. But the old man would give him the same response every time, that he was still trying to figure out the problem.

Myungsoo could only take so much before he finally exploded. He grabbed the old man’s collar and pushed him against the wall.

“While you’re taking your sweet time, every minute, every second, Sungjong and I have together is lost! Do you understand?!”

He looked down on the ground, breathing hard, then suddenly calmed down. He let go of the old man’s shoulder.

“No…no…how could you understand. How could you understand what it’s like to see your lover waste away while you can’t do anything to help him. And that you may never even have the chance to see each other again…You don’t understand. You don’t understand at all.”

Myungsoo gave the old man one last look, a look of hopelessness, and exited the store. The old man tightened his lips into a thin line. His eyes filled with pain as he watched Myungsoo leave.

The old man picked himself up from the ground, trudging towards his desk. He slammed his fist angrily on top of it and ruffled his hair in frustration.

He, in fact, understood very well what it was like to lose someone important to him. For there was once a cyborg that also had the same situation as Sungjong and that cyborg never woke again which was why he was so desperate to find a solution so that the same thing wouldn’t happen to someone else.

Myungsoo reminded him of his old self, back in the days when he was young and deeply in love. The memories of his youth came rushing back to him. Looking at Sungjong’s unmoving form, he started to see the face of his past lover.

The old man walked past the aisles of his creations until he reached the back room. Closing the door behind him, he walked up the stairs where it led to a small attic above the store. He had kept it clean for it was the home of his special person.

He sat on the ground next to bed, watching the figure that was sleeping peacefully on it. It was a young man in his mid-twenties, dressed in a white suit. His black bangs covered both of his eyes before the old man brushed them away to reveal his pale face. The side of his neck was marked with a barcode that was starting to fade over time.

The old man grasped the cold hand in his,

“Please...tell me what to do…Woohyun.”



 

---------------------------------------------------author's note-----------------------------------------------------------
Hope you enjoy reading this chapter! Please subscribe and comment below! I appreciate your thoughts and reactions~ <33